TMI Tuesday: Raising vegetarian children.

So I’ve been getting a lot of TMI Tuesday suggestions that involve something I have zero experience in. Raising kids. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I know how to change a diaper, hold a newborn correctly and can entertain toddlers into sugar-free naps. And while Clumps will never morph into a Mommy blog when I do have kids, I still love featuring Mommy-baby topics because there are so mommies out there.

Plus, the more I learn from your mommies, the less of a screw up parent I will be.

Okay, no. I’m kidding. My kids will be freaking awesome having a beauty bloggin’ rockstar as a Mom and a musical computer geek as their Dad. But this post isn’t about my uterus and its production of bebes. This post is about a penny pinchin’ Mommy (and also one of my BFFs!) and her mission to provide her 13 month old daughter and 3-year old son with nourishing food.

Gaetane recently launched her blog Seeds of Mommy Soul. Show her some love and tell her B sent you!

___________________

On Tuesday, I finally decided to buy a few grocery items for the kids. I simply do not like grocery shopping, especially with my two handfuls of children. Now that my daughter is mobile, she has a major issue with anyone trying to hold her hand in public. Little did they know, I had a plan AND I was sticking to it.

I buckled them into the double shopping cart of Target (which I love by the way) and after 1.5 hours we accomplished our mission. Being that we are a vegetarian-based household, we are limited (surprisingly, huh?) on organic vegetarian foods. Don’t get me wrong, I do have my cravings for fatty foods like Burger King fries but we limit on what we buy in our household. Our children have a right to a healthy lifestyle. The kids are only accustomed to eating a very wide range of hearty vegetarian dishes and because they are kids, they are now asking for sweets and snacks. My son verbalizes and my daughter always simply wants what her older brother is having.

You may have noticed the picture of the Ackee. Well, it was on sale and I simply love Ackee.

All these items were on sale and/or I used coupons for greater savings. Even if they were not on sale I would still purchase these items because my children love them. I do believe children should be children and enjoy eating snacks. On the other hand, I do not believe we should drown our children in unhealthy eating habits that will affect them in the future.

We as parents, care givers, aunts, uncles, and even friends should make sure that we educate our children on healthy eating habits. We cannot expect our children to eat healthy if we are not reflecting that as well. So next time you go grocery shopping, and your children are screaming at the top of their lungs for candy, look to the fruit strips as an alternate. It’s just as flavorful and is better for them.

Check out more of Gaetane’s parenting musings over at her blog Seeds of Mommy Soul. And if any of your mommies (or daddies) out there would like to submit hilarious stories, adorable pictures or shocking parenting revelations to Clumps, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at Brittany@ClumpsOfMascara.com.

I don’t have kids and I’m not vegetarian, so I won’t be raising vegetarian kids, but I think it’s a legitimate choice (imo, no better or worse than raising kids to eat healthily while still eating meat in moderation). I love those Archer Farm fruit strips for my (27 year old) self. I buy them in the 16 pack boxes and they make a great healthy, low-cal snack on the go.

http://Ifcurvescouldtalk.com Stefanie (IFCURVESCOULDTALK)

I say to each their own. Eventually they grow up and make decisions for themselves. I know plenty of vegan and vegetarian families whose children got to high school and turned total opposite. I love my meats and I am expecting my children to love it too until they can decided for their own self what they want.

http://thequietspaces.blogspot.com/ Leira Zetroc

After my parents saw the movie “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”, my family’s gone a juicing diet, meaning tons of fruits and vegetables. Nothing processed. No preservatives. Always fresh. And the best thing about juicing, is that you can have more fruits and vegetables in your diet without having to go through the trouble of eating it, because you’re only drinking a cupful. It does seems like you get more nutrients when you eat the actual fruit, but you’re actually getting WAY more when you juice a BUNCH of fruits, because its all condensed at once. Juicing has seriously made it easier to get a balanced amount of fruits and veggies…I always thought I had to eat a bunch of fruits to be healthier, when all I had to do was drink them!

I think it’s great that you’re starting your kids off early in healthy eating!

I congratulate any parent who tries to teach their children healthy eating habits, but I feel restrictive (and vegetarian and vegan diets can be VERY restrictive) diets are never a good idea for children unless there’s an absolute need for it (such as a food allergy). The best diets are well rounded ones focused on moderation. At the very least lean meats like chicken and fish are beneficial to development.

http://jewelsfablife.com Jewel

As a sufferer of Chronic Severe Iron Deficiency Anemia, I sigh when I see such posts. I WISH I could partake of such a diet. Truth of the matter is, I take in a LOT of red meat, though not by choice.

Shefali

I was raised vegetarian and have been one my entire life, without any issues. Both of my boys are being raised vegetarian as well, and none of us have any health issues. We get plenty of protein through eggs, dairy, legumes, and nuts. I say if you can do it, go for it. I don’t think humans were meant to consume meat anyway. If you review the research on nutrition/diet, alot of it indicates there is a strong link between high cholesterol, colon cancer, and other types of cancer and meat consumption. Plus we’ve never been to McDonald’s…which has saved me tons of money

Andrea

H-E-Double Hockey Sticks, this country could stand to cut back on the amount of meat we use, since:
(1) Half of our commercially processed meat is washed in ammonia to kill the germs.
(2) We inject our animals with antibiotics and accelerated growth hormones that are having adverse effects on our citizens, especially our young girls.

As a vegan, I can say that I will be raising (mostly) vegan children. Successful ventures require successful preparation.

Instagram Is Love

3 weeks agoby clumpsofmascaraFlowers are blooming in the yard and I picked a pretty flower and put it in a purple mason jar to give to a friend. It's the little things, right?

3 weeks agoby clumpsofmascaraMy first time eating a blood orange. Creeps me out a little.

1 week agoby clumpsofmascara"Mine mama?" Oh no, toddler. This is mine. Alllll mine! Can't wait to play around with these @paulaschoice #skincare goodies. And how gorgeous is that palette? Join me and grab a few thangs! If you use the code PRIMP20 at PaulasChoice.com, you can save 20%. Thank you @prettyinmypoc !
#PRIMPlovesPaula #powerprimpin#PaulasChoiceSkincare #powerprimper​